Vitaminsmart, the company behind Vitasmart, took inspiration from the Far East for its recently launched vitamin-enriched beverage range.
Founded two and a half years ago by MD Chris Pomeroy, the Buckinghamshire-based company was set up to balance Pomeroy's existing drinks business - Prospect Beverages - which is predominantly focused on the Far East and Middle East markets.
After undertaking analysis of the market, Pomeroy felt that there was an opportunity for a functional beverage, and so Vitasmart was born.
"We do a lot of work in the Far East and have seen the development of a wide range of functional beverages that have delivered more to the consumer than just a refreshing beverage. From this we came up with the idea to create a range of functional drinks for Europe. There is incredible growth potential in this sector if other parts of the world are anything to go by," said Pomeroy.
Designed to bridge the gap between water and soft drinks, the company describes the drink as a "goodness water", which is blended with fruit juice, vitamins and botanical extracts, including hibiscus, guarana, rose hip and echinacea.
The range was originally launched last year in bottles with sports caps, but has since had the recipe and packaging overhauled following extensive consumer research. This has resulted in different flavours and a higher juice and vitamin content.
Vitasmart, which made its debut in Tesco in May, is now worth £5m, according to the company, which has high hopes for the future of the brand.
"We will be disappointed if sales do not double in the next year, driven by distribution and consumer uptake. With sales running 400% ahead of forecast, we have already been approached by two major retailers who were asked for the product by their customers. We are focused on making the brand a mainstream, mass market product, and as such we expect to take a share of the overall soft drink market within a premium growth category," said Pomeroy.
Vitasmart is available in three flavours from Tesco nationwide. It is priced at 99p per 500ml bottle.
Founded two and a half years ago by MD Chris Pomeroy, the Buckinghamshire-based company was set up to balance Pomeroy's existing drinks business - Prospect Beverages - which is predominantly focused on the Far East and Middle East markets.
After undertaking analysis of the market, Pomeroy felt that there was an opportunity for a functional beverage, and so Vitasmart was born.
"We do a lot of work in the Far East and have seen the development of a wide range of functional beverages that have delivered more to the consumer than just a refreshing beverage. From this we came up with the idea to create a range of functional drinks for Europe. There is incredible growth potential in this sector if other parts of the world are anything to go by," said Pomeroy.
Designed to bridge the gap between water and soft drinks, the company describes the drink as a "goodness water", which is blended with fruit juice, vitamins and botanical extracts, including hibiscus, guarana, rose hip and echinacea.
The range was originally launched last year in bottles with sports caps, but has since had the recipe and packaging overhauled following extensive consumer research. This has resulted in different flavours and a higher juice and vitamin content.
Vitasmart, which made its debut in Tesco in May, is now worth £5m, according to the company, which has high hopes for the future of the brand.
"We will be disappointed if sales do not double in the next year, driven by distribution and consumer uptake. With sales running 400% ahead of forecast, we have already been approached by two major retailers who were asked for the product by their customers. We are focused on making the brand a mainstream, mass market product, and as such we expect to take a share of the overall soft drink market within a premium growth category," said Pomeroy.
Vitasmart is available in three flavours from Tesco nationwide. It is priced at 99p per 500ml bottle.
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